Most of today's products or product parts include identification marks to assist in part or product tracking, inventory management and point of sale pricing and data collection. Common two-dimensional identification marking schemes include stickers attached to the part or product and inkjet marking. Identification stickers must be inventoried, require application to the part or product and are susceptible to being separated from the part or product. Inkjet identification marks require the consumption of ink, printhead replacement and maintenance, and process time for drying of the ink.
As an alternative to stickers and inkjet marking, lasers have been employed to form identification marks on products. Such marks are commonly used to form a dark mark on a lighter colored plastic or a light mark on a dark colored plastic. Unfortunately, such laser produced identification marks frequently lack sufficient contrast for being reliably read by many optical reading devices such as handheld scanners. Moreover, such laser-produced identification marks frequently become damaged or scratched, further impeding a reliable reading of the identification marks.